“Yes, sir,” returned Mr. Chandler vaguely, for he hardly knew what to reply; “them parcels posts has done us carriers a world of harm.”
“I am not a prejudiced man,” continued Joseph Finsbury. “As a young man I travelled much. Nothing was too small or too obscure for me to acquire. At sea I studied seamanship, learned the complicated knots employed by mariners, and acquired the technical terms. At Naples, I would learn the art of making macaroni; at Nice, the principles of making candied fruit. I never went to the opera without first buying the book of the piece, and making myself acquainted with the principal airs by picking them out on the piano with one finger.”
“You must have seen a deal, sir,” remarked the carrier, touching up his horse; “I wish I could have had your advantages.”
“Do you know how often the word whip occurs in the Old Testament?” continued the old gentleman. “One hundred and (if I remember exactly) forty-seven times.”
“Do it indeed, sir?” said Mr. Chandler. “I never should have thought it.”
“The Bible contains three million five hundred and one thousand two hundred and forty-nine letters. Of verses I believe there are upward of eighteen thousand. There have been many editions of the Bible; Wiclif was the first to introduce it into England about the year 1300. The ‘Paragraph Bible,’ as it is called, is a well-known edition, and is so called because it is divided into paragraphs. The ‘Breeches Bible’ is another well-known instance, and gets its name either because it was printed by one Breeches, or because the place of publication bore that name.”
The carrier remarked drily that he thought that was only natural, and turned his attention to the more congenial task of passing a cart of hay; it was a matter of some difficulty, for the road was narrow, and there was a ditch on either hand.
“I perceive,” began Mr. Finsbury, when they had successfully passed the cart, “that you hold your reins with one hand; you should employ two.”
“Well, I like that!” cried the carrier contemptuously. “Why?”
“You do not understand,” continued Mr. Finsbury. “What I tell you is a scientific fact, and reposes on the theory of the lever, a branch of mechanics. There are some very interesting little shilling books upon the field of study, which I should think a man in your station would take a pleasure to read. But I am afraid you have not cultivated the art of observation; at least we have now driven together for some time, and I cannot remember that you have contributed a single fact. This is a very false principle, my good man. For instance, I do not know if you observed that (as you passed the hay-cart man) you took your left?”